Adjustable rear axle for separators



B'. F. BODENNER. ADJUSTABLE REAR AXLE FOB SEPARATORS.

Patented Dec. 28,1920.

SHEETS-SHEET I.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4. |918.

L fnde/@fief B. F. BODENNEH. ADJUSTABLE REAR AXLE FOR SEPARATORS.

' APPLICATION FILED MAY 4. I9I8.

1,3,'?1 l Y Patented Dec. 289 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2'.

E devzef. l

BERT F. BODENNER, 0F HUGHENDEN, ALBERTA, CANAQA,

.ADJUSTABLE REAR AXLE FOR SEPARATORS.

rseavii.

To ali whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, BERTI?. BODENNER, a` Subj ect of the King; of Great Britain, resid-L ing at Huglienden, in the Province of Ale berta and Dominion oiiCanada, have invented certain new and usei'ul Improvements in Adjustable Rear Axles for Separatore;

and l do hereby declare the following to be v a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, suchas will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains toy make and j use the same.

This invention relates toj grain separatoisL and more particularly.; to a vertically adjustable rear axle structure, by means owliicli a grain .separatoiinay be leveledy without the necessity oi' digging holes in theground and running either the :liront or rear wheels into these holes, or the employment or any of the many ways now employed to yproperly level a separator.

lt is well known, that to obtain the maximum efficiency from a grainL separator, it is necessaryto have the separator perfectly level, for if the rear end of the thresher is low, as is ordinarily the case, the grain has a tendency to pass over the sieves into the blower structure and it the separator is not leveled laterally or from side to side, the grain will overloadthe lowest sideof the sieves and cause some grain to pass over the loaded part of the sieves .i into the blower structure and also cause chaff and small straws to remain inthe threshed grain owing to the fact that one part ot the sieve will be overloaded and will choke lup the use ot4 the air blast at this part of the sieveQ lt is the object ot this invention to.pro

vide a rear axle structurefor grain separators by meansofwhichthe rear end of the separator may be adjusted vertically with respect to the supporting `axle proper whichV Specicaiion of Letters raient .ieatenemi.neaA es, ieee.` Application filed May 4, 1918.

Serial N0. 232,570.

erence will be had to :the accompanying` drawings, wherein like characters/designates I like andy corresponding. parts throughout the several views, and inwhich:

Figure Lis a top plan ofthe' improved axle structuren;vz

F ig. 2 is a rear elevationiof .thei'irnprpved i f.

axle structure.'

- Fig. 3 is ank end elevation oithe axle w n u a i Fig. .4- is a detail vertical section.through.w

structure.

Fig. 7 is a `detail ,perspective `view olik a\ socket structure-employed .mathe construe-i tion of the axle. j,

. Beferringiinore particularly to the drawf` ings, l designates the. rear axle properwhich is adapted to carrystubaxles Ziipon` its ends upon which ,the rear supporting wheels y l of the grain separatora or thresher. are mounted. rlhe stub axles 2 nare of the ordinary construction feniployed in i thresliers vorA separator structures. ,The main axle 1 is composed of a pair of bars 3 wliichgliave` their innersunfaces spaced as clearly yshown in Figs. l and 5 of the drawingsmlocksjd are inserted betweeirthe facing sides ot the bars 3 at their ends, and these blocks are connected to the bars 3 by boltsf, the heads of` rwhich are countersunk in one ofthe, bars 3.

rlhe sills 6 of the bodyotthe separator (not shown), are attached tothe adjustable l section 7 of the rear axle. The adjustable section 7 is composed of a pairjofparallel, y .bars 8. extending parallel withveach ,other/I and being positioned directlyabove. the bars 95,

The bars 8 are connectedto the sills 6.-

in any suitable manner, suchas by strapsg), ,j r and they have nuts or Vbearing-s1() carriedw thereby near the ends ot the bars. The bears.

ings l0 have their threaded openings V1l po-` 100 sitioned between the acingsides ot the'barsE j 8 and they also have pins l2 formed` therej i upon and radiating therefrom,-,wliich `pins are seated in .suitableopenings kfprmedin `the l j bars 8 to hold the bearings 10 against rota 1g/)l5 tion.

A feed screw 14 extends through each of the nuts 8, or one at each end of the adjust* able structure 7 or" the axle, and these feed screws have threaded portions l5 which en- 110 gage the threads of the bores of the bearings 10 for moving the adjustable structure 7 vertically with respect to the main supporting structure 1 of the axle. Heads 16 are formed upon the lower ends of the feed screws 14tand these heads are rotatably mounted in sockets 16EL carried by the bars 3.

The sockets 162L include flat base plates 17 which extend transversely through the bars 3 and top plates 18 which have substantially semi-cylindrical portions 19 formed thereupon and constituting j housings provided with openings 20 through which the feed screws extend. The openings 20 are of such size as to prevent the heads 16 from passing therethrough and the substantially'semi-cr'- lindrical portions 19 confine the heads in the sockets and hold the feed screws against vertical movement so that rotary movement ofthe feed or jack screws will raise the adj ustable structure7 withrespect to the structure 1. Keys 21 are inserted through openings 22 formed in the plates 17 and 18 for binding the plates securely together and in their proper position with respect to the bars 3, The forward ends of the plates 17 and 18 are providedwith recesses in which the ends of bracing arms 23 are seated, as clearly shown in F ig. t of the drawings. The bracing arms 23 are connected to the plates 17 and 18 by suitable pins or bolts 2li and these bracing arms may be attached to the main body of the separator at any desired point or to the under surface of the sills 6 as shown at 25 in F ig. 3 of the drawings. Auxiliary braces 26 are connected to the braces 23 and to the forward bar 8 of the movable structure 7 of the axle.

Operating rods 27 extend diametricallj,7 through the upper ends of the feed or jack screws 1a for facilitating the rotation thereof, and each feed or jack screw is rbtated independently of the otherl one, so that one end of the Vmovable structure 7 of the axle may be raised or lowered independently of movement of the other end, to properly level a separator laterally when necessary.

A wedge 30 is attached to the bars 8 intermediate their ends and it seats in a socket formed by a pair of plates 31 and portions of the sides of the bars 3. The plates 31 which are secured by side pins 31 project above thevupper edges of the bars 3. The

wedge or tongue 30 engaging the plates 3l t prevents side movement of the adjustable structure 7 of the axle with respect to the main portion 1 and it also keeps the upper adjustable portion 7 in its proper position with respect to the lower portie 1 at all times.

By rotating the feed screws 14 through the medium of the actuating rods 27, either end or the entire adjustable structure' 7 of the axle may be moved vertically, to properly level a grain separator and if necessary, or if one side of the separator is lower than the other side, by the rotation of one of the feed or jack screws, this side can be raised to 'the level of the higher side and thus the separator vis properly leveled and the many inconveniences contingent with the usual manner of leveling a separator and the disadvantages caused by a separator which is not properly leveled will be removed. t

F rom the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings the advantages of construction and the method of operation of the improved adjustable rear axle for separators will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which tl is invention appertains and, while in the foregoing description, the principle of the operation of this invention has been described together with various features of construction, it is to be understood that certain minor features of construction, combination and arrangement. of parts may be altered to suit practical conditions provided such alterations are comprehended within the scope of what is claimed.

TWhat is claimed is: i

In an axle structure, a lower wheel carrying section including parallel side bars, an

yupper body carrying section including parallel side bars spaced from one another, plates positioned between the side bars at a point intermediate the length of the lower section, a tongue depending from between the upper side bars at a point intermediatethe length of the upper section and projecting between the plates of the lower section to prevent independent longitudinal movement of said upper and said lower sections, bearing members carried by said upper section adjacent the ends thereof, socket members carried by said lower section and having upwardly extended portions provided with an aperture, adjusting screws threaded through the bearings of the upper section and having heads mounted in the sockets of the lower section, said screws extended through the apertures of said sockets, bracing means for said beart 

